1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a housing for hearing devices or hearing aids respectively with sound amplifying components arranged at the inside of the housing, at least one opening arranged at the outside and a removable cap for covering said opening.
Hearing devices or hearing aids respectively commonly consist of a closed housing or joined housing shells for its operations. As the devices are subject to a number of environmental influences during its operations, the housings, as well as multipart shells, have to be leak-proved sealed. The respective housings thus may only be opened with special tools and by respectively trained or skilled persons.
For direct interventions into the inside of the housing during operation or during short breaks of operation, without the need of opening the housing shell, closable openings will have to be provided within the housing shell. This may be the case if an electrical plug-in connection has to be established with an external unit.
2 . Description of Related Art
Such openings are provided in known hearing devices, such as behind-the-ear hearing aids, with electronic amplifying techniques, and may be closed with covers pivotably arranged at the housing. Such covers are for instance attached by means of metallic axis or pins, that are arranged leading through the cap as well as through the housing. This provides a stable connection but needs a great amount of space and is involved with relatively high production costs due to its multi-piece composition and use of different materials.
In another known embodiment a cap for closing the opening is insertable from the outside through an opening into the housing, whereby elastically hinge elements will snap into accordingly shaped recesses within the housing. The cap thus may be provided as a one-piece element but bears the risk that the cap may get loose or broken by inappropriate handling.
In another known embodiment, the openings are covered or closed by a cap having a flexible hinge or consisting of flexible material, such as rubber. Such covers disadvantageously have a self-closing effect due to its flexible and resilient characteristics of the hinge, thus closing the opening before the intended intervention through the opening has taken place.